Lumber dipping apparatus



July 3, 1951 A. E. DOWNES LUMBER DIPPING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 24, 1946 ART/9 we ,5. pawn/[6,

y 3,1951 AVE. DOWNES I 2,559,286

LUMBER DIPPING-APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1946 a Sheets-Sheet 2 ARTHUR TfiOW/Vl-S f fad 4 WW J y 3, 1951 A. E. DOWNES 2,559,286

, LUMBER DIPPING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 24, 1946 I :5 Sheets-Sheet 3 l i m HIM N l a aim: "2-- I Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to lumber treating apparatus, and particularly to such apparatus intended for use for impregnating lumber by subjecting it to a liquid bath, the characteristics of which bath may be changed to suit particular requirements. The liquid may be a sealing agent, and the inventor does not wish to be limited with respect to the impregnating material with which the apparatus is employed, as the bath could be creosote or other well known lumber impregnating fluid.

An object of the invention is to provide a dipping tank to which the lumber is delivered on a plane above the liquid level in the tank, and the said tank has a partition or bafiie plate in spaced relation to the wall of the tank in order that the lumber may be delivered to the tank between the wall and the plate, the plate terminating above the bottom of the tank so that the lumber as it descends may be forced into the liquid and, by reason of the buoyancy of the lumber, rise in the tank in successive layers until the lumber floats on the surface of the fluid in the tank, from whence it can be removed fully treated and in condition for further operation.

It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide a tank of this type associated with a trimming machine which is effective to saw the lumber into appropriate lengths while it is being conveyed to the tank, the said trimming machine comprising suitable saws in spaced relation to each other, the distance between which determines the length of the lumber delivered to the tank. The said trimming machine also includes means for moving the lumber, and provision is made for supporting the lumber in its travel from the trimming machine to the tank, to which tank the lumber is delivered when it reaches the end of a supporting way on which the lumber is moved; the said apparatus also including means for guiding the lumber to the space between the tank and plate and to prevent the lumber from being forced beyond the plate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tank in which the parts are adjustably assembled, and in which bracing means are provided for holding the plate and other parts of the tank rigid and securely assembled.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a sectional view of the lumber dipping tank on the line l-l of Fig. 3;

Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 illustrates a plan view of the tank and parts associated therewith; and

Figure 4 illustrates a sectional View on the line 44 of Fig. 1.

In these drawings I denotes a trimming machine which may be of any conventional type, and the inventor does not wish to be limited to the details of this part of the apparatus. A saw 2 is shown and it is mounted in a bearing 3 slidably secured between the posts 4 and held in proper adjustment by set screws 5. Shafts 6 and I are mounted in the frame and sprocket wheels 8 and 9 are carried by the said shafts. A sprocket chain I0 operates over the sprocket wheels, and appropriate dogs H are carried by the sprocket chains and are spaced apart a suitable distance, preferably greater than the width of the lumber to be sawn and treated. The parts that are shown and thus far described are duplicated for operating on lumber at the other end of the planks.

Rails [2 are mounted on or made a part of the frame and the lumber is moved on these rails by the operation of the sprocket chains, and at the ends of the rails l2 from which the lumber is discharged, there is a plurality of brackets l6 which receive the lumber and over which it is moved to the tank, as will presently appear.

The frame of the tank, of which the angle iron I3 is apart, has the ends of a shelf l4 secured to it, and the said shelf supports feet I5 of the brackets IE, to which reference has been made as supporting the lumber in its travel from the trimming machine to the tank. The brackets have integral arms I! whose ends H! are supported in the rails I2. The brackets form guides for the lumber as the lumber passes into the tank, and guides [9a anchored to the front end of the tank serve to direct the lumber to the space between the brackets and the tank. The wall 2! of the tank extends upwardly to the shelf 14, and the plate l9 extends downwardly in the tank, with its lower edge in spaced relation to the bottom of the tank, so that there is a volume of fluid in the tank below the plate. The plate I9 is reinforced by braces, such as 20.

At each end of the tank there is a rail member 24 comprising an angle iron secured to one leg of an angle iron [8a, the other leg of which is secured to the plate l9, as shown at [81). The first mentioned leg of the angle iron I8a has a plurality of apertures 26 which permits a vertical adjustment between the rail member 24 and the angle iron I 8a attached to the plate, and bolts 21 securing the respective parts together. The flange of the rail 24 has apertures 28 to receive a bolt 29 by which a diagonal brace 30 is secured to said rail, and the lower end of said brace is connected to the flange of the angle iron [So by fastenings, such as 3!. The front wall of the tank is identified b the numeral 32, and it is seen that the plate I9 is adjustable vertically in the tank to increase or diminish the distance between the lower edge of the plate and the bottom of the tank. The tank is provided with a guide or bafile 34 curved so that lumber descending in the tank encounters the said baflle plate and said lumber is deflected thereby so that it moves toward the front of the tank a distance which will permit it to float and rise in the tank in order that the planks become superimposed and the upper ones are removed as they rise to the top of the fluid.

The tank may be installed in any appropriate way, but it is here shown as having a depending portion which reaches below the general plan floor 31, whereas the trimming machine rests on the said floor. The inventor, however, does not wish to be restricted with respect to such installations, as they may be followed to suit particular requirements.

I claim:

1. In a lumber treating apparatus, a tank adapted to contain a lumber treating fluid a baffle plate disposed in the tank in spaced relation to the tank wall defining a channel with the wall, the lower end of the plate terminating a short distance above the bottom of the tank and the upper end of the plate extending above the tank, the channel being adapted to receive superimposed pieces of lumber, guiding means extending upwardly from the tank wall in spaced parallel relation to the area of the plate above the tank to provide a prolongation of the channel within the tank whereby the superimposed pieces of lumber and gravity will guide the lumber downwardly through the channel into the treating fluid, a curvedguiding means in the tank below the lower end of the plate to direct the lumber leaving the channel outwardly away from the channel into the central zone of the tank, a beam extending transversely of the tank at each end thereof, means securing the ends of said beams to the baflle plate and the tank above the treating fluid level in the tank, a brace attached to each of said beams and extending diagonally downward therefrom into the fluid in the tank, and means to connect the lower end of each brace to the plate.

2. In a lumber treating apparatus, a tank adapted to contain a lumber treating fluid, brackets supported by the tank, arms on the brackets over which superimposed pieces of lumber are adapted to move to the tank, a baflle plate disposed in the tank in spaced relation to the wall of the tank and said brackets, the lower end of the plate terminating a short distance above the bottom of the tank and the upper end of the plate extending above the tank, at least a portion of said arms being in spaced parallel relation to the area of the plate above the tank to provide a prolongation of the channel defined by the plate and the tank wall within the tank, whereby the superimposed pieces of lumber and gravity will guide the lumber pieces downwardly through the channel, curved guiding means in the tank below the lower end of the plate for directing the lumber leaving the channel outwardly away from the channel into the central zone of the tank, a beam extending transversely of the tank at each end of the tank above the liquid level in the tank, means securing the ends of the beams to the baflie plate and to the tank, a brace attached to one of the beams'and extending diagonally downward therefrom into the fluid in the tank, and means to connect the lower end of the brace to the bafile plate.

ARTHUR E. DOWNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,351,210 Hobbs June 13, 1944 2,380,984 Moeller Aug. 7, I945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 72,123 Sweden Mar. 4, 1927 

